Drum Roll Please.....

Ok, the reason I haven't been posting, the reason I've been hiding away from creating layouts and cards and all sorts of fun things is that I've been working feverishly on something much, much bigger.  Without further ado, I'd like to share with yo the fruits of my labor:  Kite Tails Designs!  By the end of the month my website will be up and running, with all sorts of fun new scrapbooking products to help get your pages complete!  We'll be debuting our first 3 collections at CHA this summer, so expect to see all of these at your favorite retail store or online retailer by mid-August!   I'll be posting some sneak peaks soon, as well as starting a specifically Kite Tails blog, so keep checking in :)

Why Hello There!

For anyone who's still checking in, you're diamonds.  For those who might be peeking by way of Apron Strings Blog, welcome!  As you can see from my extreme lack of posting recently, I've been more than a little busy with some things.  I ready to share my big news with the world (or at least those of you who care to check in!) but first, I think I'll catch up on a couple of things I've been working on for Apron Strings:

 Off to See the Wizard!  These photos were from this past Halloween, where I convinced several of Finn's cousins to all dress up with him like characters from the Wizard of Oz.  They were a hit walking around the neighborhood together, got so much candy!  I used the My Mind's Eye Stella Rose collection for this layout, it's a Spring collection, but I think it does Fall justice as well...

This is a simple but cute card using the My Little Shoebox Home Tweet Home collection.  I needed to get a couple of Thank You cards done for some deserving people, and these pretty papers were just the thing! 

MIA

For those who are still checking in at all, I've got big things going on.  I've been MIA for weeks now, cooking up something that'll hopefully knock everyone's socks off.  I'm going to be gearing up for CKC in Manchester NH pretty soon, starting to put photos & papers together to get the most out of the classes & crops, and I'm not sure how much actual scrapbooking I'm going to get done between now & then. 

I will be posting some 'After' pictures from our ongoing bathroom renovation in the next couple of days, so keep checking back for that little tidbit, and I hope I'll be able to share my big news with you all in the weeks to come.

1st Haircut

First haircut(s) were doubly painful.  The first one was my desperate attempt to just "trim his bangs" a big so as to delay the inevitable.  Shortly thereafter, we were sitting in a chair at the cutest little children's hair salon called 'Snip It's' getting a real, big boy haircut.  Neither time was he amused, and it broke my heart to see all his beautiful little curls go.  Thankfully, they've since grown back!

School Day

Finn's 1st Day of School! I cried so hard, but he looked so handsome, eating his waffle and mugging for the camera.  Knuckles, as always was following diligently, looking for crumbs & scraps. 

Bathroom Renovation Phase 1-Progress!

We are truly Weekend Warriors as far as DIY is concerned!  Credit must be given where credit it due however, and today the credit goes to.....Meme!  B's mom took Finn for the whole day today so that we could do the super messy/stinky stuff that we didn't want him to be around. 

This was Prep Day 1 (Saturday)  Removal of the old hideous light & wall-mounted medicine cabinet only to discover that the previous owners/builder didn't bother to install a proper junction box behind the lighting.  Looks like they pretty much just sledgehammered a hole in the drywall to thread the wires through. 

Diligent hubby sanding away:

Finn is helping!

New j-box is in and the walls are painted!

Cabinets are de-drawered and de-doored.  Prelim sanding was done on them, but there's more coming next week on that.

 Walls are all done & look great!

 Close-up on the cabinets, and a final look at the nasty sinnk & vanity top.  Those bad boys are coming out next weekend!

So that's it!  The progress for the weekend.  Next weekend is counters/sink/cabinets, the following weekend is the fun part; accessorizing! 

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly-Phase 1

Ok, here are the photos of our bathroom (Phase 1)  They aren't pretty, but they will be when I'm done with them!

The Good:  The floors

I love the floors in the sink area.  They're beautiful, neutral & easy to clean. 

I wish they had put a base back on the cabinets though when they had installed it....

The Bad:  The Lighting

I have no words.  Actually I do, they are hideous, horrible, annoying, frusterating.  I could go on.  I swear we replace these bulbs ALL.THE.TIME and they still burn out randomly.  Plus this lighting is less than flattering, which is never good.

The Ugly:  The Cabinets

Need I say more?  I hate the hinges, the hardware the color.  This might work in a lot of people's houses (think farmhouse) but in a contemporary style house?  Not so much.

Here are a few other gems, for you to wrap your brain around:

Finally, a sneak peek at the transition between the sink flooring & the main bathroom floor tile.  'Cause I just know you were sitting on the edges of your seat about it ;)